Gov. Larry Hogan has pledged $1.5 million in state money over the next three years to the organization that operates the Pride of Baltimore II ship, in hopes of using the vessel to promote the state's business profile.

Hogan announced a public-private partnership Monday that would help Pride of Baltimore Inc. pay for the ship's activities and "expand its focus on selling Maryland as a strong economic market."

"We are thrilled to have a new partnership with Maryland," Rick Scott, executive director of Pride of Baltimore Inc., said in a statement released by the governor's office. He said his team will work with the state's departments of transportation and commerce on a plan to promote economic development.

Hogan said the Pride of Baltimore II will "carry our message across the state, nation and globe — that Maryland is open for business."

The Pride of Baltimore II is a replica of an 1812-era topsail schooner that would have sailed Maryland's waters. It was commissioned in 1988 to continue the mission of her predecessor, the original Pride of Baltimore, which sank in 1986, to promote maritime education, economic development and tourism and serve as a representative of the citizens of Maryland.